Lemonade for the New Year

To date, 259,000 shekels in grants have been given to Israeli breast cancer patients, 113 women and 1 man, who are in financial crisis due to the their illness.

One of our most recent grants went to H., a 57 year old woman from central Israel who was recently diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Having survived thyroid cancer a year earlier, H. had just returned to her job as a caretaker at a nursing home. During the same period, her husband was forced to declare bankruptcy. H. is currently going through chemotherapy treatment and is also, understandably, suffering from anxiety and depression. H. and her husband have no source of income during this difficult time and we received an application on her behalf from her hospital social worker. The grant was delivered in time for the holiday season and we wish H. well. (With your donations, we can help patients like H. For more profiles, see, http://www.lemonadefund.org/profiles.)

During this time of year, we are focused on capturing God’s ear. The sound of the shofar is an ancient call, like a cry, without words. It is worth mentioning the simplest, most heart-felt prayer ever recorded. Five words, cried out by Moses, when his sister became ill. “Kayl, na, refa na lah.” “Please God, please heal her.”

The raw nakedness of this request to God can teach us much about prayer. At it’s most powerful, it is direct and straight from the heart. Yom Kippur can be a time of deep introspection when this kind of connection is possible.

We can also see how a serious illness shakes man to his core. On Yom Kippur, when most of us are praying earnestly for an upcoming year of blessings, very sick people beseech God for survival and recovery. I remember the first Yom Kippur after diagnosis as being one of intense gratitude as well as a humble new understanding of exactly what it means to pray for and be granted life.

Yom Kippur is all about effecting change and bettering oneself. One of the proscribed Jewish ways to improve ourselves is to help those around us by giving charity. The Lemonade Fund is a simple charity with very little overhead. It assists breast cancer patients financially while they are in active treatment so they can concentrate on getting well. No one should have to be indigent and seriously ill at the same time, as long as we can help it. http://www.lemonadefund.org/about

We would like to thank the Young Israel of West Hempstead, West Hempstead, NY, and their Combined Israel Appeal for their generous support of the Lemonade Fund. Their grant will help us help many patients.

Finally, (it’s been a while) a lemon recipe for the break fast. Wishing everyone a meaningful Yom Kippur and a sweet, healthy and peaceful New Year.